21 Days With Him
by marina eys
Summary: Unfortunately for our poor Ginny Weasley, she's trapped in an abandoned room with none other than the devil himself, Draco Malfoy...for 21 days. With those two together things are bound to get crazy. DracoGinny
1. Prologue

**-21 Days With Him-**

**Disclaimer: **I own neither Harry Potter nor any of the characters in this story- I pretty much don't own anything affiliated with the _Harry Potter_ series. They are the property of the amazing J. K. Rowling.

**Plot Outline: **Unfortunately for our poor Ginny Weasley, she's trapped in an abandoned room with none other than the devil himself, Draco Malfoy. And for 21 days. With those two together, things are bound to get crazy…

This story takes place when Malfoy is in his Seventh Year and Ginny is in her Sixth Year at Hogwarts – and it's a bit AU as it doesn't follow the canon in Book 6 (In other words, certain people haven't died and other certain things haven't happened). It's from Ginny's point of view and she's writing everything down about what happened to her. It starts at the present and then goes back in time to when everything started. And the pairing is eventually Draco/Ginny, so don't worry! But anyway, it's just meant to be a bit of fun and I hope you like.

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**Prologue:**

Okay, first things first: The only reason I'm writing anything down is because you, Madam Pomfrey, practically threatened that you wouldn't let me have any visitors unless I did as you instructed. So now I have to write everything that happened down as you think that it will be good for me – help cleanse the soul or some other kind of excuse.

Puh-lease.

So, here I am sitting in the Hospital Wing desperate and bruised with you glaring at me, making sure that I'm writing. Problem is, I'm not too sure where to start. I mean how many people could have possibly suffered the kind of _trauma_ and _torture _that I have undergone for a sum total of 21 days? 21 days with _him_, the devil himself and bane of my life – Draco Malfoy. He thinks he's God's gift to the world, so it's ironic how he's possibly managed to ruin my life!

Okay, okay Madam Pomfrey, I'll calm down. I'm taking a deep breath. Now I know you don't believe me when I say this, but it's true. My life was perfectly _fine_ before he came and ruined it all. I mean, what had I ever done to the guy (apart from that Bat-Bogey Hex)? His main issues were with Harry, Ron and Hermione, I'm sure that even you noticed that. For some reason, he always found joy in tormenting me just because of my family, which you have to admit is kind of pitiful as I am in the year below him.

But I have to admit that at one point during our time together, I did believe that even _he_ was capable of changing. Maybe just a little bit. But as you saw for yourself, I was evidently wrong.

So quite frankly, it was obvious to me that those 21 days were going to result in bloodshed or at least some kind of great emotional outburst by the time we were finally free.

But anyway, I'm rambling on already and none of it's probably making sense. I guess we'll just have to go back to the day it started. The day that made everything change.

The beginning of the end.

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**A/N: **So what do you think – good? Bad? For the readers of two of my other stories, _Why Me? _and _Sarah Enchanted_, the next chapters of those two should be coming out fairly soon. But please review and tell me what you think of this. 


	2. Ch1: The Beginning Of The End

**Disclaimer: **I own neither Harry Potter nor any of the characters in this story and pretty much anything affiliated with the _Harry Potter_ series. They are the property of the amazing J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks all so much for your reviews – they were very much appreciated! This story is just supposed to be a light-hearted bit of fun, and I really love writing it.

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**Chapter 1:**

_The Beginning Of The End_

-

It began on an innocent Saturday afternoon during a trip to Hogsmeade with some friends. It was a week before the beginning of the Christmas holidays and so I was planning on doing some Christmas shopping. I saw a drab dingy store called _Pampering Potions and Spells_ (I know, the name should have been a sign) that I had never noticed before and because I was curious decided to have a look despite my friends who protested and stayed outside – if I'd known better I would have done the same thing.

It was a dim little place and the only other person inside besides me was the shopkeeper, a small woman that looked positively ancient with wrinkles _in_ her wrinkles.

Anyway, there wasn't much to my liking in the store and I was about to step out when the old woman hobbled closer and croaked, "Your soul mate is very near you, my dear."

"Err, what?" That's exactly what I oh-so-gracefully said to her.

"Your soul mate. The one you're supposed to be with. For the REST OF YOUR LIFE." Her voice boomed and I shuddered.

Umm, okay. I was more than just a little freaked out. My _soul mate_? Yeah, whatever. Call me cynical but what soul mate? True, I have had my fair share of crushes – cough Harry Potter cough – but soul mates? That's just something made up by trashy romance novelists.

"I can see that you're in denial." She rasped heavily and placed one bony hand on my arm.

I lightly tugged my arm away from her and edged closer to the door, my now startled brown eyes trying to grab my friends' attention.

"Well," she continued. "I guess I'll just have to help you along with making it happen." Then before I could do anything she had pulled out her wand and muttered some spell under her breath.

"Hey now what the hell do you think you're doing?" I demanded but before I could say another word I blinked and she was gone.

I shook my head wondering if I'd just imagined it all but as it turned out I obviously hadn't. Therefore I think that I can safely say to you that what eventually followed, was pretty much none of my fault. And to this very day, I still have no clue as to who she was and why of all people, it was _me_ that she had to pick on.

The event however was soon forgotten as Monday rolled round and so my hectic school life for the week began. From the start, I could tell that this day was going to be a long one, with me falling out of bed when Luna Lovegood decided to wake me up by jumping on top of my bed dressed in a gorilla suit her father had sent her. Why did he give her one? I don't know. Why did she have to scare _me_ with one? I don't know the answer to that question either. All I do know is that that girl is bizarre. But you can't help liking her I guess.

So anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, I fell out of bed. Then after managing to get dressed while making sure that Luna wasn't going to do anything else that was crazy, I made my way down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

As usual, my older brother Ron and his two best friends Hermione Granger and Harry Potter were seated there at the Gryffindor table all together. I waved hello at Hermione who waved back, but Ron avoided making eye contact with me and Harry, seeing Ron's reaction, decided to do the same. I mean, ouch. That kind of hurt. Kind of – it was only my annoying brother after all. But the fact that he was too embarrassed to even say hello to me, and the fact that Harry just simply followed along, well it did get to me a little. But then I guess I should be used to the rejection by now. And don't worry Madam Pomfrey, I know you're analysing what I'm writing and trying to understand the inner workings of my mind blah blah blah, but really it's no big deal. Really.

I spent most of my morning before school busily trying to finish my Transfiguration assignment and then I had to listen to my good friend, Eliza Spinnet, complain about her recent break-up with her now ex-boyfriend, Seamus Finnigan. Who, though I would never admit it to anyone, I had had a bit of a crush on ever since I had gotten over my ridiculous infatuation with Harry - what _was _I thinking? (Oh and Madam Pomfrey, I'd prefer it if you kept that little piece of information private).

Soon enough I had to go to my first class of the day and my least favourite subject in the world,_ urgh_ potions, with Snape and once again I was running late (again I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention that to anyone). But really, it wasn't my fault as you can see from the events just described.

So I was running along the corridor, my wild red hair streaming out from behind me as I rushed along, not really looking where I was going when suddenly I banged into someone who was running in the opposite direction. We went flying into the air, wild limbs, books and all.

I landed with a loud _oof_, winded. I lay down dazed for a moment and rubbed my head groggily.I then tried to push off the huge and incredibly solid thing that was on top of me which was…you guessed it Madam Pomfrey, Malfoy. Now words can't describe what I feel about _this_ guy. Ever since I started Hogwarts, he's been bent on making my life a living hell. And of all the people I could have bumped into, it had to be him.

Doesn't my life just _suck_?

It sounds so incredibly corny I know, but if it hadn't been for that old loony witch, none of this would have happened. I would have eventually made it to class, gotten a month's worth of detentions from Snape for being late, and continued on with my life.

"Malfoy, could you _please_ get off me?" I groaned. I could feel a lovely bruise already starting to form on my stomach.

Malfoy lurched off me, clearly recoiling in disgust. "As if I'd want to be anywhere near _you_." He taunted, his tanned and I hate to admit not unattractive face was as per usual scrunched up in an awful smirk. He ran one hand back through his smooth blonde hair – in case one should fall out of place no doubt.

Now what did he expect me to do? Run off all scared without saying anything? Madam Pomfrey, I _clearly_ had to defend myself. "Malfoy, you're such a jerk!"

"And you're a little _weasel_!" he fought back with what I thought was a really low insult, even for him. I won't bore you with the rest of the details regarding what we said, but I think you get the gist of it. And because of our anger, it was the sound of a loud door slamming finally made us both come to our senses.

I jerked away and for once looked at my surroundings. We'd clearly managed to fall into some room that I'd never seen before and my gaze rested on the now closed door. At the same time we both ran over and tried the open it.

"Try your wand!" I yelled in frustration.

Malfoy retrieved his wand and pointed it at the door. "Alohomora!" Nothing happened. "Try yours."

I got my wand out from inside my robe and yelled _Alohomora_ as well but no such luck. "There's no other way out." I groaned.

Malfoy and I gazed open-mouthed in terror at each other as we both realised what had inevitably happened.

"Oh crap!" we both shouted in horror.

And so began my 21 days of hell...

With _him_.

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**A/N:** Just to let you know, the real action starts next chapter. (There'll also be a full explanation of the room their trapped in and stuff like how will they be able to eat, etc in case you're wondering). The following chapters will take place with one chapter for each day. Then the story will come back to the present and there'll be a few more chapters after that. 

Please review!

Thanks to: Biohazards Girl, softlove91 (_thanks! G/D is really good to read once you get used to it)_, awaiting impatient person (_yeah I do write Ginny/Draco too lol_), jasmine, Dark Angels, midnight972, Barefoot Bohemiam, Yamis Girl 4everandever and Wishinstahhz (_my first reviewer!_).


	3. Ch2: Day 1

**Disclaimer:** I own neither Harry Potter nor any of the characters in this story- I pretty much don't own anything affiliated with the Harry Potter series. They are the property of the amazing J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks for all you're reviews. They were great.

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**Chapter 2:**

_Day 1 - And just when you thought things couldn't get any worse…_

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The first thing that I did when I had finally regained control of my senses was pinch myself. I know, not necessarily the smartest thing that I have ever done, but I simply had to check that I wasn't dreaming. I pinched my arm and gave a little yelp – man, I had really hoped that I wasn't awake.

Malfoy looked at me pinching myself and gave me a look that clearly said you-are-a-lunatic-and-I-can't-believe-I'm-stuck-here-with-such-a-demented-freak. But fine, he doesn't exactly float my boat either if you know what I mean.

I nervously surveyed the room and saw that we were in some kind of living room. There was a lounge suit, a fireplace and even a small table.

"Well," I cleared my throat. "I guess we're stuck here." I may have sounded calm, but inside I was screaming: _WHAT AM I GOING TO DO? _

"Gee, you think?" Malfoy rolled his eyes, which then widened as they focused on something behind me. "Wait a minute, there's another door!" he exclaimed.

All at once, both of us bounded over to it, each trying to push the other away to get to the door first. I don't remember who it was who actually opened the door, all I remember was us two sprawling forwards and into another room. For the second time in less than sixty seconds my mouth dropped open: inside was a bedroom with a huge double bed.

"There's also a door in here!" I cried out and shoved past Malfoy while he at the same time tried to hold me back by grabbing on to my school robes. Yes I know, so mature. We eventually again made it to the other door and soon saw that behind it was a…

Bathroom. You heard me, a bathroom.

I stood there gaping for a second, ideas forming inside my head as I tried to understand what had happened. So stunned was I that I didn't even notice that Malfoy had left the room.

"Weasel, I've found a kitchen!" I heard him announce, effectively snapping me from out of my reverie. I went back out into the lounge room and saw another door open and sure enough, Malfoy was standing in the middle of a kitchen.

"Okay Weasel, where the fuck are we?" he snarled.

"Hey, this isn't my fault." I protested.

"Sure it isn't."

"Well how do _you _know that you didn't have something to do with this?" I placed my hands angrily on my hips.

Malfoy sniffed. "We Malfoys never do anything wrong."

I snorted at this (and I'm sure Madam Pomfrey that you're doing this now). "Uh huh."

Malfoy narrowed his eyes warily. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing." I said innocently.

"Look Weasley, you're the one that bashed into _me_ and caused this, now FIX IT!" he bellowed.

Sheesh. Alright, alright already. Hasn't he ever heard of anger management? And my family thought that my temper was bad.

But what Malfoy said had got me thinking. And then my thoughts went to back Saturday. At Hogsmeade. In that shop. With that woman.

And then I recalled what she had said about uniting me with my soul mate. I looked at Malfoy gravely.

Hell _no_.

Malfoy and soul mate in the one sentence? I don't think so.

Now the devil himself must have noticed me staring at him like he was going to kill me or something, as he suddenly blurted out, "What?"

I swallowed nervously. What exactly should I tell him?

"I-I think I know why we're here." I stumbled over my words slightly.

Malfoy cracked his knuckles. "Really?"

I took a deep breath. "Well last Saturday I went with some friends to Hogsmeade and we, I mean I, had a look in this little store that I'd never seen before called Pampering Potions and Spells or something like that and there was this crazy lady or something and for some reason I must have made her angry and yeah and now I guess she must have decided to pay me back by locking me up with my worst enemy and-" I continued to ramble on, not exactly telling him the whole truth but not completely lying either – but then again, I was never that good at lying.

"Slow down! What _exactly_ are you trying to tell me?"

"There was this old woman at Hogsmeade last Saturday who I annoyed so she did some weird spell that's now obviously meant that I'm stuck here in a room with _you _as some kind of payback." I crossed my fingers behind my back and prayed that Malfoy would believe me.

"You upset someone _this_ badly." His voice was dripping with disbelief and I could tell that he didn't completely believe me. I just hoped that he wouldn't continue questioning me about it. He looked around the kitchen and opened the fridge, giving a low whistle when he saw the food stacked to the full inside. "Some punishment." He raised one eyebrow. I gulped. "There must be some way that we can get out of here."

He rushed about the room, tugging at some of the windows (which oddly enough were frosted so you couldn't see out of them) that were locked shut. He even grabbed a kitchen chair and rammed it through one of the windows but no such luck. I grimaced, everything was magically shut. That old woman really didn't want us getting out of here, whoever she was.

I thought hard about our situation. Stuck here there was no way we'd be able to go to school. No classes. No Snape. No Ron. No pain-in-the-butt family members in general. No crazy friends.

_Wait a minute_. This might not be so bad after all.

I smiled happily for the first time since I'd been locked in here and grabbed what appeared to be butterbeer from the fridge. I opened it and sat down, stretching out my legs. I watched on amused as Malfoy continued zooming around in and out, trying to see if there was any way of getting out of here.

He noticed my weird behaviour and stopped what he was doing. "Don't you want to get out of here?"

I shrugged. "It's not like we'll be able to anyway. So why stress?" Sure I didn't want to be here with Malfoy of all people, but for the moment I could deal with it. Or maybe I was too shocked to care anymore. Come to think of it, I think that was the far more likely reason. "Besides, Dumbledore will eventually find us and get us out, you'll see." For some reason I was certain of this, don't ask me why. It was just something I had in my gut feeling.

Malfoy noticed the butterbeer in my hand. He went to the fridge, retrieved one, and sat down across from me. He opened his mouth to say something and I was shocked for second because I thought that he might be starting a _conversation_ of all things, with me. But then he said snidely, "I suppose this is more wealth than you're used to, eh Weasley?"

I clenched my jaw. _Just control your anger_, I told myself. "Get lost, _ferret_."

"Ah, but as you told me not a minute ago, we're stuck here so I can't really." He smirked. I wanted to strangle him.

"Whatever." I flipped him one.

A clock chimed suddenly and we both looked up to find one above the fridge. The time read 11:00am.

The school would have surely seen that we were missing by now. I wondered what they'd do. Send out some kind of search party? I could imagine that our current location was very heavily guarded by magic.

I went back into the lounge and gazed across the room. How was I going to keep myself from going insane?

_It could be good if there was some form of entertainment…_I wondered, and before my very eyes a muggle entertainment device that my father had showed me, I think they call it a telly-vision, appeared in front of me.

"What the-" I scrutinised the screen. There seemed to be some kind of fight happening with people shouting "Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!" I laughed. Muggles..

Malfoy hearing the noise entered the room. "What is that television doing here?"

My eyes widened. "You know what that is? You do know that it's a muggle thing, right?"

He looked abashed but then straightened up. "Well father does say that you should know all about your enemies." He retorted indignantly.

"I'm glad you're _daddy_ thinks so." I spoke smugly before sitting down on top of the lounge.

Malfoy decided to sit down on the other seat next to me, his eyes glued to what was in front of him.

We watched the box in silence, fascinated with the show. Apparently some muggle was having an affair with his brother. "Who thinks of these things?" I muttered to myself at the crazy things muggles sometime do.

Most of that day was spent watching the telly-vision, though occasionally we'd go into the kitchen for some food. Funny thing was, the fridge or pantry never seemed to run out, whenever you'd go back in for more, more food had already replaced what had been taken away.

At one point Malfoy had snapped out of his daze and asked me, "How exactly did this thing appear?"

"I don't know." I surprised myself by saying civilly. "I think I just _wished_ for it and it appeared."

As soon as I said this I knew that it was the wrong thing to say.

"You wished for it?" he repeated, grinning wickedly. "What kind of punishment is this? I think I'll try wishing for something. Let me see…I wish for some Playwizard magazines."

I groaned inwardly, Malfoy liked reading that filth? It was all cheap porn.

We both waited for the magazines to arrive but when none came, I nodded my head in understanding. We obviously couldn't wish for anything that would interrupt us from becoming soul mates. Though I don't think that that's _ever_ likely going to happen. Hopefully Dumbledore will find us soon enough because I don't want to be stuck here _forever._

"Why haven't they come yet?" he whined like a two-year-old.

I shrugged. There was no reason to tell him anything.

"As if you'd know." He answered himself and stood up, his tall frame towering over my petite body. He looked down his strong pointed nose at me. "I can't believe I'm stuck here with a stupid Weasley. Filth is all you are."

I furiously shot up from where I was sitting and noticed that I barely came up to his chin. "You're the trash Malfoy. You're a disgrace to all witches and wizards! At least _my_ family is noble."

"Noble? You're family can't even afford to buy you decent clothes."

"Well at least everyone in my family has a heart." I snapped.

"Scum!"

"Moron!"

"Muggle lover!"

"Death eater!" I yelled back, and from the murderous look on Malfoy's face, I could tell that I had touched a nerve.

"I am not," he choked out, his face a slightly purple colour. "A death eater."

And because I had already dug myself into a hole, I couldn't even stop myself from digging it further by replying, "You could have fooled me."

Malfoy took a step forward and I inched back, wondering whether he was going to do something like, I don't know, _kill _me.

"Maybe we should get to bed?" I squeaked out.

Malfoy took a step back away from me and straightened his clothing. "Fine." He grunted.

I walked over to the bedroom and turned on the light. And that's when we faced another major dilemma.

"Err Malfoy," and here I paused trying to find the right words. "There's only one bed."

"I guess you'll just have to sleep on the floor." Malfoy walked in and started undressing.

"Hello? I can't sleep on a floor!"

"It's not like you're not used to it."

I put my head in my hands in frustration. I guess I should have expected that.

"I'm the female here, I should get the bed." I argued, trying to ignore the fact that he was starting to unbutton his shirt.

"I don't think so." He turned and faced me.

"Well I do." I said, standing my ground and glaring into his eyes. His grey orbs pierced into mine.

"We'll just have to share then." He suggested, leering and clearly expecting me to say no.

"Okay then." I agreed shocking him and even myself.

There were two pairs of pyjamas laid out on the bed. This old woman definitely thought of _everything_.

I went into the bathroom to get dressed and when I came back out again, Malfoy was already lying in bed as far away from me as possible.

I turned off the light and clambered in on the other side.

We lay there in the dark, both of us clearly awake but neither saying anything.

"Don't you dare come closer to me at all during the night." He hissed.

"I wouldn't dream of it. I think it's more a question of you wanting to get close to me, ferret."

"In your dreams, Weasel."

There was more silence as I drifted close to sleep, then Malfoy asked, "Aren't you going to say anything to that?"

"No, I'm trying to get to sleep." I mumbled, exhausted.

More silence.

"How can you be so tired? It's like 9 o'clock."

"Shut _up_, ferret."

"You don't tell _me_ to shut-"

"Shut up!" I shrieked, and I could hear Malfoy fall out of bed in surprise. I stifled a giggle.

He climbed back in swearing under his breath and once more there was silence.

_Good_. I thought satisfied.

"Weasley you really are fuc-" Malfoy began again and I sighed.

Tonight was going to be a long one.

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**A/N: **I hope you're satisfied with this chapter! Please please please review. And for those of you who picked in up, the show that Malfoy and Ginny were watching was Jerry Springer - which I also don't own at all and I think it's FOX8 that does. 

**Replies: **

Barefoot Bohemian: Sorry if I offended you, I actually did know that it is a very old philosophical idea, though not from Socrates. Ginny obviously doesn't though being a witch and all. Her comments about soul mates are pretty much to do with her cynicism towards love (which will definitely change by the end of the story). She's had a few crushes, and even has one now on her best friend's ex-boyfriend, but she's sceptical about the whole head-over-heals desperately in love thing. In my story, she just "grew up" (and I use that term lightly) after she got over Harry and also became a lot more cynical – but there'll be further development of that idea later on in the story. Thanks for pointing it out to me anyway – I'm glad when people do point out these things to me. So if there is anymore soul mate "bashing" by Ginny, now you know why! Thanks for reviewing.

**Also thanks go to: **Wishinstahhz, LetMeLoveYou, midnight972, SonMina, lorina, the real RAB, Cinnamon Spice and Yamis Girl 4everandever.


	4. Ch3: Day 2

**Disclaimer: **I own neither Harry Potter nor any of the characters in this story- I pretty much don't own anything affiliated with the _Harry Potter_ series. They are the property of the amazing J. K. Rowling.

* * *

**Chapter 3:**

_Day 2 - And the bad continues…_

The next morning when I awoke, I snuggled deeper into my bed and reluctantly opened my eyes. There in front of me was Draco, his face less than ten centimetres away from mine. He was still sleeping peacefully and I smiled as he let out a light snore. Then I realised that this was _Malfoy_ for crying out loud and I rolled over away from him as far as possible.

He started moving around, and I was afraid that I'd waken him up. Then I realised that he was still sleeping.

"No, go away!" he squirmed. "Don't do it!"

I gaped at him. He was having a nightmare about who knows what. I imagined all the bribery that I could gain from this. But just one look at his face, so completely terrified and desperate, and for some reason I couldn't bring myself to make fun of his weakness. I wasn't sure whether to wake him up. There was no need however because Malfoy's whole body jerked and I watched him anxiously as he opened his eyes.

He stared at the room confused and then saw me looking at him.

"How long have you been watching me Weasel? Can't get enough of my gorgeous face?" he taunted. He certainly wasn't a morning person.

"No!" I protested loudly, though it was true that he was definitely attractive. How many times had I heard Eliza, Luna and even Hermione on the odd occasion mention that he was incredibly good looking? Now if only his personality wasn't so bad.

"Sure, sure. Well I hate to break it to you, but you'll _never_ get a piece of this." He said, pointing at a part of his body that I don't even want to _think_ about. Madam Pomfrey, some boys are just so demented.

"Stop being such a ferret." I answered back irritated. I decided not to mention his nightmare; I knew he'd just insult me if I said anything about it.

I leapt out of bed and walked over to one of the closets. Opening it, my suspicions were confirmed. Inside were a tonne of clothes and on further inspection, they all seemed to be my size.

Malfoy seeing what I had done, walked to the other closet on the other side of the room and when he opened it, I too could see that there were a whole heap of male clothing inside.

Malfoy watched me suspiciously. "This old woman must have _really_ had it in for you." He spoke sarcastically.

I laughed shakily. "Y-yeah."

I turned back to the wardrobe, trying to ignore the feeling of his eyes boring into the back of my head. I surveyed the clothes and picked out a pair of denim jeans and a white sweater.

Malfoy I noticed, had pulled out a pair of grey pants and a dark green shirt.

"I'm going to have a shower." He told me.

"But I was going to have one."

"You'll just have to wait, Weasel."

He opened the bathroom door and went inside while I sank back down onto the bed. I guess I was just going to have to wait for my turn.

I pondered about my situation. This woman definitely was intent on her plan for Malfoy and me. Though I knew I'd go insane sooner than fall in love with Malfoy.

The minutes ticked by as I waited for Malfoy to finally emerge from his shower.

"Hey Malfoy!" I called, walking over and banging on the door. "Can you hurry up? How long does it take to _preen_ yourself?"

"Wait a minute." He replied, but under his breath I could hear him mutter, "You insane cow."

"I heard that ferret-boy."

Another minute passed and once again I pounded on the bathroom door. "I swear Malfoy that if you don't open this friggin' door I will-" I started though I never got to finish my sentence as he chose this exact moment to open the door.

"Finally." I began, and then saw just exactly what he was wearing…or rather what he wasn't wearing.

He at least had on his jeans, but as he complained next, "For Merlin's sake, I can't even have enough time to put on my shirt!"

And now I sincerely wished that I hadn't been so impatient, because though I'd seen plenty of boys topless (especially growing up with six brothers and being friends with boys such as Colin Creevy and Harry Potter, if you could call him a friend) I had never seen a chest quite like _this_ one.

I know what you're thinking Madam Pomfrey, that I'm just exaggerating, but you had to have been there.

The guy was _fit_. I could see the muscles rippling through his long tanned torso, I guess being quidditch captain had paid off. His skin was smooth and slightly damp, giving it a light sheen. I swallowed stunned. Oh _my_…

Never had I been more aware of how Malfoy had changed from the young pale and sickly looking piece of snot that he once was (though he still was a snot).

"What's _wrong_ now? I got out for you now go in!" he barked, and broke my trance. He was gazing at me oddly and it was clear he had no idea of the effect he was having on me, which was quite strange, because usually he's the kind of person who _loves_ showing off that fact that girls simply flock all over him.

"Yeah, yeah Malfoy. Put a sock in it." I goaded him.

I pushed past him and into the bathroom, locking the door once I was inside. I inspected my face in the bathroom mirror. My normally rosy face was now very flushed and my auburn hair was wild.

Sometimes I _really_ hate Malfoy.

I spent what must have been about an hour in the shower relaxing. But when I got out I swore as I realised something. I had left my clothes in the bedroom in my anger.

I grabbed a towel that was hanging behind the door and wrapped it around my body. _It's okay_. I reasoned. _I can simply wish for clothes_. I tried wishing and nothing happened. I groaned, obviously the old bag considered me being almost naked a good way to bring Malfoy and me together.

"Malfoy!" I called out. "Can you bring me my clothes? I think I left them on the bed." There was no way I was going to give Malfoy the benefit of seeing me in just a skimpy little towel.

There was no answer.

"Malfoy! Oh Malfoy!" I tried this for fifteen minutes but then finally gave up. I made a quick decision. _I'll just have to go out then_. I conceded.

I opened the door a fraction and slipped out. I was relieved when I saw that Malfoy was indeed not inside the bedroom. I grabbed my clothes, ran back inside and hastily got changed.

When I emerged from the bathroom for a second time, I decided to find out just where exactly Malfoy had gotten to. I knew that it couldn't be too far. After all, there were only four rooms in this place!

As soon as I stepped out into the lounge room, I found out exactly what had happened. Malfoy was riding about the room on a broomstick. Or a Firebolt to be more precise.

"Whoo hoo!" he shouted.

I grabbed a cushion and aimed it at him. I grinned triumphantly when it managed to hit him square on the face.

"Bugger off!"

"Malfoy, just what do you think you're doing, riding a BROOMSTICK?" I tapped my foot against the floor edgily as I waited for his answer.

"I tried that wishing thing again. I wished for a broomstick and it worked."

"A broomstick? In case you haven't noticed, you incompetent moron, this isn't exactly a quidditch pitch." Had he gone mad? You couldn't fly inside!

"I got bored, and I haven't flown a broomstick for 48 hours. It can do crazy things to a person." He explained.

"Obviously."

Malfoy swooped down past me before I could do anything about it and took the towel out of my hands that I had been using to finish drying my hair.

"Malfoy! Give that back!"

"No, come get it."

"Fine I'll just go get another one."

"So you're too scared to come chase me?" he jeered.

I frowned. Nobody calls me scared.

"You're on." I was going to teach this jerk a lesson.

I wished for another broomstick and climbed on top of it. Malfoy had the grace to look surprised when I didn't fall off it. But I mean, come on. I'd made it on the Gryffindor quidditch team as a chaser last year as I had hoped and planned. Malfoy was so arrogant. Ha, I'll show him.

"Yes Malfoy, I _can_ fly a broom." I stated matter-of-factly.

Malfoy responded by zipping about the room, weaving in and around various obstacles, and I followed.

He was good, I'd give him that much. Actually better than good, Madam Pomfrey, though I wouldn't normally like to admit it. But common on, you must've seen him play at least once so you know what I'm talking about.

We zoomed about. He turned sharply into the kitchen and I closely followed.

I could feel myself getting closer and closer, when all of a sudden he turned back round and I was left to catch up again.

Needless to say, by the time we eventually stopped my hair was completely dry and we were both exhausted. I never did manage to steal that towel back from him.

"I think we now know who's better at flying." He insulted me.

"You were just lucky."

"Upset?" he smirked.

"No!" I replied hotly, though I couldn't help wonder at the fact that flying was the only time I'd actually seen him smile. Most of the time he either smirked or leered at you even when he was doing his prefect duties (can you believe that he was chosen as a prefect? And as a sixth year prefect I sadly have to work with him), smiling he seemed to save for quidditch.

My stomach decided to choose at that moment to rumble.

"Hungry, Weasley? You should be used to it by now."

"Ha ha. You're so funny." Didn't he ever tire of the same old insults?

I made my way into the kitchen and opened the fridge.

Let me see, what did I feel like having? I grabbed a plate of seafood and sat down at the kitchen table.

"I wanted seafood!" Malfoy whinged when he saw what I was eating.

"Stop being such a baby. I'm sure there's more in the fridge."

He opened it and like I had said, there was another platter there waiting for him.

We sat down facing each other in silence, both concentrating on eating.

When we had both eventually finished, we used magic to clean the plates and placed them in the sink. It's what we had done yesterday, and from what I could see, the plates from the day before were now gone. At least the old woman's spell was good in that respect.

"So," Malfoy began. "Missing Scarface already?"

I clucked my tongue in disapproval. "Don't call him that."

"That's right I forgot. You're completely obsessed with him."

"I am not!"

"Are too. You practically have to wipe the drool from your mouth whenever you're around him. Perfect Potter and his wonderful two sidekicks: Big Weasel and bookworm." He spoke bitterly.

"You're just jealous." My voice rose.

"Me, jealous? Of Potter? I don't think so."

"Yes, you are. Because everyone simply adores them. Because everyone looks up to them. Because they've saved Hogwarts dozens of times. Because Harry's better at quidditch than you are! And because they're closer to perfection than you'll ever be!" I spat out accusingly. Now that I think about it, I wonder at the rubbish I had spoken. I didn't really believe most of that about Harry and co., though I had always suspected that Malfoy was jealous of them for some reason.

I could see a vein in Malfoy's forehead start to throb that I had not seen before. _He must be really mad_. I thought.

"Well what about you? You're simply sickening the way you crawl up to those three, when it's clear to everyone that you simply don't belong to them and they simply see you as a pain in the arse. It's _pathetic_. In fact, it's obvious to anyone that they simply _despise_ you. You're just a desperate muggle loving, dirt-poor piece of _trash_. Actually no, screw that, everyone can see they don't even pay enough attention to you in the first place for them to even think of anything about you other than the fact that you don't, and never will, belong!" he burst out with such rage that I cowered frightened before him.

He breathed deeply as his face started to fade from the deep red colour that it had become.

I blinked miserably up at him, trying not to let tears well up in my eyes. He'd really hit right home at that one, and I didn't want to let him see how much he'd hurt me. I had thought that I was stronger than that.

I lowered my eyelids as he continued to glare at me.

"I think I'll go watch some telly-vision or whatever you call it." I whispered.

I walked out hunched over.

"Weasley-" I heard him follow me.

"Shut up, haven't you already done enough damage?"

I could see from out of the corner of my eye Malfoy pause walking. "I'll be in our room." He slowly informed me, walking away. If I'd been in a happier mood, I would have sniggered at the fact that we were starting to sound like an old married couple.

I flicked on the telly-vision to find the same crazy show on from yesterday. This time a girl was on there discussing how she had become pregnant by a transsexual. For some reason though, my mind couldn't seem to concentrate on what was happening. Underneath the calm façade that I had put up, there was a whirl of emotions. Is that what everyone thought of me? As some pathetic excuse for a human being? As some hanger-on, desperate to fit in?

Needless to say, for the rest of the day, Malfoy and I avoided each other. And later that night when it was time to go to bed, we lay silently at opposite ends both clearly awake. Neither of us able to get to sleep.

For a _long_ time.

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**A/N: **Don't you just love the tension? Next chapter we'll find out just exactly how Ginny and Draco first met. Anyway, thanks so much for all your reviews – I love reading them and I really appreciate it. 

**Replies:**

awaiting impatient person: yeah, most of what Malfoy says is pretty much just to annoy Ginny, it's not necessarily what he actually thinks. And I agree about Jerry Springer lol! I really want to update this story fast, probably because it's so much harder for me to write if I take a long time and have long breaks when it comes to writing (which explains delays in Sarah Enchanted and all my other stories). I'm trying to do this story differently. Thanks for the review!

softlove91: Thanks so much! Yeah I do live in Australia, and I love H&A – I completely agree with you about Jack and Lucas. About the affair thing on Jerry Springer, with the guy and incest with having an affair with his brother – I actually saw an episode (Yep, I'm embarrassed to admit it, every so often I watch the show when there's nothing else on) with that happen. This girl found out that her boyfriend was cheating on her… with his brother. Disturbing, huh? Thanks for your review!

**Also thanks go to: **Wishinstahhz, squirrel-wrath, S H A Y E x, Riley, PrettyGal1212, Cinnamon Spice, Macy, Slickschick650, XThisXBeautifulXDisasterX, Dark Angels, SonMina and Yamis Girl 4everandever.


	5. Ch4: Days 3 and 4

**Disclaimer: **I own neither Harry Potter nor any of the characters in this story- I pretty much don't own anything affiliated with the _Harry Potter_ series. They are the property of the amazing J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note: **I'm back and sorry I took so long – my exams just finished two weeks ago. My next update should be a lot quicker. I wrote this in a rush so I'm hoping that there aren't too many typos. I decided to combine Days 3 and 4 just for this chapter, though the following chapters will go back to normal with one day per chapter. Also thanks so much for the overwhelming review response. I love you guys!

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**Last Chapter: **

Is that what everyone thought of me? As some pathetic excuse for a human being? As some hanger-on, desperate to fit in? Needless to say, for the rest of the day, Malfoy and I avoided each other. And later that night when it was time to go to bed, we lay silently at opposite ends both clearly awake. Neither of us able to get to sleep. For a _long_ time.

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**Chapter 4:**

_Days 3 and 4 – Remembering_

-

When I finally woke up, I certainly wasn't in the best of moods from lack of sleep. I was surprised to find that Malfoy had already awoken and was no longer in the room. But after yesterday, I can't really say that I was very much upset about that.

I lay back in bed, trying to will myself to get up and face the massive fight with Malfoy that was inevitably going to occur.

I lazily got dressed and stumbled over into the kitchen where Malfoy was currently sitting down and digging into a treacle tart. He had yet to notice my presence so I took the opportunity to study him. I tried to figure out what made him exactly so irritating and why he knew precisely what to say to get under my skin. He looked up just as he was about to take another bite and wrinkled his forehead.

I ignored the weird look he was giving me and decided to make some toast for breakfast. Malfoy continued eating. I sat down at the other end of the table as far away from him as possible and began munching on my toast.

_That's interesting._ I remember thinking. _We haven't bitten each other's heads off… yet. _

When I had finished eating, I went over to the sink and saw that Malfoy had done the same thing.

"Excuse me," he said tonelessly and I moved out of the way. He put his plate down making sure that not a single bit of him touched me.

It was almost like we had become strangers.

And for once in my life, I almost wished that we could go back to fighting again. But then I guess some things had been said last night that could not simply be forgotten.

The whole third day, we barely spoke to each other. And when we did, it was with an almost unbearable detachment. I spent most of the day moping about. How much longer would we be stuck here? I didn't think that I'd be able to survive much longer with Malfoy.

I thought back to the very first day we met. Before we knew to hate each other. When I was only seven years old and he was eight…

-

_I was in Diagon Alley with my family because we were buying schoolbooks for my eldest two brothers, Charlie and Bill. I was told that I was allowed to play in the local park while they got their books and I was excited to be able to play around with other children my age. I was just about to go down a rather large slide when I saw a boy with pale blond hair looking back up at me from the ground in front. "Are you sure you should be sliding down this? You're kind of small." He stated loudly._

"_Of course I can!" I huffed. "Now move out of the way." _

_The boy shrugged and did as I told him to. I pushed myself down and slid all the way, laughing the whole way. The boy just gazed at me with what had to be astonishment in his eyes._

"_See, it's not that hard." I spoke in between giggles._

"_I wouldn't know." He told me calmly._

"_You mean you've never been on one of these before?" My mouth had dropped open, I had thought that every child would have – it was just a part of being young._

"_My father doesn't like such things. He says that they have a muggle influence." He fidgeted with his hands nervously._

"_What's wrong with muggles? I think they're great." I said enthusiastically._

"_You do?"_

"_Sure. They're just like us after all, only they have all those nutty inventions, and they don't have magic." I explained, repeating what my own father had often told me. At the thought of my father I then remembered my manners. "I'm Ginny. Who're you?"_

"_Draco."_

"_Well do you want to play?" I asked him hopefully._

"_I don't know-" he began, looking slightly reluctant._

"_Please? It'll be fun, I promise." Then without thinking I took his hand and made my way back up to the swing._

_Draco looked like he wanted to back down when he saw how high up it was._

"_I don't think so." He started to turn back round but I stopped him._

"_Come on, I'll go down with you. This slide's wide enough to fit us both."_

_And holding his hand, we both slid down, Draco screaming all the way._

_When we finally reached the end I saw that he had his eyes both tightly shut. "You can open them now." I said._

_He hesitantly did so. "Hey, that was fun." He sounded surprised. "Lets do that again."_

"_See, I told you so." I poked my tongue out at him and we racde each other to the top of the slide, only to slide down it once again._

_We spent most of the afternoon together. I was ecstatic to find that I had finally found my first friend – the only other people I'd ever had to play with before were my brothers, and family doesn't count. I explained to him that I was waiting for my family to finish school shopping and he told me that his father had gone to Knockturn Alley. At the mention of such an infamous place I had immediately said, "Cool! I've always wanted to see it but my parents won't let me."_

"_I've been a few times. It's not that great." He cast his eyes downward and even my seven year old self could tell that he didn't want to talk about it. When his father came to collect him, I suddenly saw why Draco at times had seemed so anxious and so much older than he really was._

_"Draco, come along." He boomed sternly, he had long blond hair and cold grey eyes that soon noticed me. "And what do we have we here? Red hair, millions of freckles and hand-me down robes. Not another Weasley." _

_I stood up straight. "Hey, what's wrong with being a Weasley? We were having fun." I spoke with such childlike innocence that I wonder how I could have been so naïve._

"_What's wrong? How about I inform you -we're Malfoys. Not cheap muggle-lovers __like you." And then he turned to his son. "And you had best remember that."_

_I felt tears start to well up in my eyes but then I heard a voice call out, "Gin, what's going on?" I turned around and saw my family approaching._

"_Merlin, not _more_ of them." Lucius spat. Draco just stood silently behind him and I was angry with him because of that._

_My father was the first to reach us. "Good day Lucius." He spoke haltingly but then saw my sad face. "Just what is going on here?"_

"_You're _daughter_ was conversing with my son." When he spoke the word 'daughter' he glanced at me with disgust._

_"Well I think the issue is what your son was doing with my baby sister!" That was Charlie; he was always a hot-tempered one._

_A resulting argument broke out but eventually Arthur knew to stop before it got any worse and dragged us all away._

"_He's not worth it." He muttered._

_In the background I could hear Lucius Malfoy calling after us, "She'll never be good enough for my son!" _

_I looked over my shoulder back at them, and saw Draco standing desolately next to his father._

"_Bye, Draco." I whispered, and slightly waved at him._

_I then turned back around, not seeing him wave back._

_-_

I was hurt that I had lost my friend. I'd heard father mention the name Malfoy before but I had never connected it with Draco. Though with his white-blond hair, grey eyes, and views on muggles I should have guessed. But we were just children, and even after that incident I couldn't hate Malfoy. But then we met again, almost a whole year later. If I remember correctly I was standing by myself in front of a broomstick shop, inspecting with awe the latest models.

-

"_Weasley, I don't think you should be looking here – you won't be able to afford it." I heard someone speak snidely from beside me and found Draco Malfoy sneering back at me._

_I ignored what he said, too stunned to see him. "Draco! How are you?" I was so happy to see him, he'd been my friend if only for one afternoon. I went to give him an innocent hug but he pushed me away from him._

"_Don't touch me!" _

_I gaped. "Draco, what's wrong with you?"  
_

"_Don't call me by my first name! You're the problem." He jeered._

"_But what about that time at the park?" I asked, hoping that he'd remember._

"_That was a mistake. If I'd known the filth you were I'd have stayed as far away from you as possible." He then stormed off, leaving me standing there. Alone._

I won't cry._ I told myself over and over again; even though I'd just lost what I had thought had been my friend._

_-_

And it was from that moment on that I started to hate Draco Malfoy.

My thoughts were interrupted by the devil himself stomping past me, clearly in a foul temper. I hadn't even said anything to upset him today but clearly my presence still managed to be enough to irritate me. It was as if simply glancing at me was enough to bring out the worst in him. Occasionally I'd feel someone staring at me and find that Malfoy was glaring at me as if he wanted to kill me right there and then.

_What that boy needs, _I told myself, _is a good slap on the face._ I grinned suddenly at the image of me smacking Malfoy. I needed to stop wallowing in self pity and pondering over sad memories.

I spread out on one of the couches. Hurting Malfoy. What better way was there really to put me in a good mood?

The third day passed and then the fourth day did as well in pretty much the same manner. And as much as the idea of hurting Malfoy was amusing, it got boring after a while. In fact I was so bored that I was starting to think crazy thoughts like, I don't know, maybe actually _having a conversation _with the git. Since when would my normal self ever want to do that?

There was only one possible conclusion: I was going insane. And the sooner I got out of this hell-hole and away from Malfoy the better.

The third night had been a royal pain in the arse. I stayed awake half of it making sure that I didn't roll over so that I was near Malfoy, and instead stayed as far away from him in that bed as was humanly possible. I think he must have been awake for most of it as well, because he spent that night stiffly to his side of the bed also.

So by the time the fourth night rode around, we were both pretty exhausted. And surprisingly as soon as my head hit that pillow, I fell asleep.

However halfway through the night I was woken up by something. I shifted over onto my side, trying to go back to sleep when I heard again just what it was that had woken me up.

I concentrated on the sound, trying to figure out what it was. Was that… _sniffing?_

I peered in the dark incredulously at Malfoy and I could make out his shoulders slightly shaking.

My jaw dropped open. Was Malfoy crying?

I lay in bed, trying to think of what to do. Should I say something? Should I do anything? Should I just pretend I never heard him?

I decided to go with the last idea. I knew that Malfoy, being the arrogant prat that he was, would kill me if he found out that I had heard him crying. So I spent another few hours trying to get back to sleep, and when I finally did the last thought on my mind was:

_What on earth was Malfoy crying about?

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_

**A/N: **Please review. Next chapter features the long awaited argument between Ginny and Malfoy. Can't wait!

Replies –

**animezebra: **About Madam Pomfrey – you will see where she comes in – Ginny's writing this in the Hospital Wing because she's been injured but the exact details will be revealed later on. As for the spell, not much has been told because Ginny doesn't know that much about it herself. All she knows so far is that they can't perform magic if it involves interrupting the old woman's plan to bring those two together. And as for the old woman… you will find out all about her at the very end. At the moment she's just a bit of a mystery so far. Basically, I can tell you so far that she _is_ an old interfering woman (though there is more to her than that which you'll find out). Hope that makes sense. Thanks for the review – and I agree with you, a shirtless Draco is always a good thing!

**Noelle Andrews:** Yep, they will be listening to music – that part will be fun to write. I'm glad you're back. And I agree with you about Jerry Springer – it is disturbing but for some bizarre reason I still sometimes watch it. Don't ask me why! Thanks for the review.

**FeistySprite: **Sorry, no DG action this chapter (though you did find out how they first met). There won't be any "romantic action" until a few chapters because they still do hate each other. But don't worry, that will all change eventually! Thanks for reviewing.

**awaiting impatient person: **Sorry I took so long to update! I do have an idea for the nightmare thing – and it is very similar to yours. I love Disney movies too and watch them all the time. Though they are sexist, like the girl always needs rescuing and it's as if the whole aim of a girl's like is to get married and that's it. Though maybe I've been reading too much into it for Disney lol. Thanks for the review!

**softlove91: **I think I'm blushing after reading your review. I never meant it to sound erotic, I don't think… lol. I really did see the transsexual thing on t.v – you can find the most disturbing things on that show. Don't worry about the long review – I love them! Thanks for taking the time to write! As for my other favourite t.v shows: I liked Desperate Housewives and Lost when they were still on and Dancing With The Stars is pretty good. I also like Grey's Anatomy. I watch most things on t.v (except Neighbours, being a true H&A fan and all)! What shows do you like?

**slickchick650: **That's what I first thought when I came up with this idea – how are they going to find things to do for 21 days? But don't worry, I do have that sorted out. Though keep in mind, this isn't the most realistic fic out there. Thanks for reviewing!


	6. Ch5: Day 5

**Disclaimer: **I own neither Harry Potter nor any of the characters in this story- I pretty much don't own anything affiliated with the _Harry Potter_ series. They are the property of the amazing J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note: **As always, thanks for the awesome reviews! You're all far too nice.

* * *

**Chapter 5:**

_Day 5 – Unexpected Happenings_

-

That fifth day I woke up incredibly early and found that I couldn't get back to sleep. Malfoy and I would have to talk to each other about our "issue" eventually but I was kind of hesitant, as you would probably be too Madam Pomfrey, as to what we would actually say. I mean we've all heard the stories about Malfoy's family, his father in particular, and a showdown with the son of an infamous death-eater isn't exactly on my "to do" list. Secretly, and I might I add _very_ secretly, I used to be slightly afraid of Malfoy. Only a little bit. Well, quite a bit. Okay, okay – sometimes he terrified the crap out of me! (And don't you dare utter a word about that to anyone, Madam Pomfrey, I've never told anyone this before).

I know you've probably seen me for years constantly yelling at him (I do have that Weasley temper after all) but deep down I just do it in the hope that he won't notice how scared I am of him.

I can never quite tell what he's thinking. Sure I can tell when he's _angry_ or _annoyed_ or something, but I can never quite tell what's on his mind. He's also got that whole "I'm powerful, worship me" thing going for him. And lets not forgot all those rumours about him being a death eater. Harry's always said at least a dozen times or more that he was one. Then there's the saying "like father, like son".

But I still must admit, in those five days so far that we'd been together, he hadn't been _that_ bad. Sure we'd fought and he still said some horrible things to me, but nothing like I expected – I even heard him crying the previous night! And I'm starting to wonder if that scared me even more.

I noticed that once again Malfoy had woken up before me, early as it was. I reluctantly got dressed and stumbled into the kitchen. Yet again Malfoy was shoving down his throat a treacle tart. When I entered he again ignored me. _Sigh_. This was really getting old and fast.

I pulled out some pudding that I had found in the pantry and cut out a slice. I then sat across the table from Malfoy and started eating. More silence.

_Well this is just _great.

"Okay Malfoy, just spill it. This silence is driving me insane. Say anything, but just say something." I said, well that's what I would have said if I wasn't as determined at playing the "silent treatment" game as he was. Instead I just sat there ramrod straight in my own stony silence, voicelessly challenging him to be the first to break the quiet.

The silence continued. I swear I could even hear my own heart beating, it was that kind of quiet. Malfoy cleared his throat. I absent-mindedly drummed my fingers on the table, hoping to get a reaction from him.

For the first few minutes he didn't comment or anything. But after a while I could see that the sound was beginning to bug him.

Finally he exclaimed, "Weasley could you just cut that out?"

I pretended to think about his question. "Let me think – no."

"You're such a stubborn bitch."

You know when I said that Malfoy wasn't as bad as I thought he would be? Well _screw_ that. "Real smart words from a real smart ferret."

"You think you're so funny."

"I know I am." I spoke smugly, trying to hide the fact that I was breathing a hundred times faster than normal.

"I don't see anyone laughing, Weaslette." He raised an eyebrow.

"That was really lame."

"No, lame is hanging around Scarface and his friends in the hope that they will notice you." He jeered.

There he went again with that same insult. I tried to block out what he was saying to me. "Malfoy you truly are a stupid moron. I really don't get you."

"Sod off Weasel! Why don't you go hassle someone else?"

I looked at him like he was a twit which, wait a minute, he was. "Hello! Just who else exactly am I going to talk to _here_? In case you haven't realised, I'm stuck here with you."

"Come on, you know you want me." I could see that he was trying for a different tactic this time. He was going to have to do better than this if he wanted to rise a _real_ reaction from me.

"You're right Malfoy. I'm completely in love with you and want you to be the father of my children." My voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Really?"

"No!"

"Get lost!" He scoffed.

"Great Malfoy. A really intelligent two-word response that was." I stood up abruptly, the chair sliding back with a loud clang behind me.

I saw his eyes darken and his fist clench. If he took a swing at me he is _so_ dead. "I will not hit a girl." He grounded out. How did he know what I was thinking? And Malfoy wouldn't hit a girl? That was a surprise. It's almost noble. I mean even Ron sometimes tackled me when he was in a rather bad mood. I didn't think Malfoy actually had these kinds of standards.

He stood up too, facing me. Hmm… now I know what a purple Malfoy looks like. "You know, purple's not really you're colour." I continued on. I think I might have had a death wish.

I saw Malfoy's face scrunch up in confusion as he tried to figure out what I meant. When he did he went back to glare at me, clearly peeved. "What exactly is your problem?" he demanded.

"You're the one who keeps on insulting me! I am not 'pathetic' or 'desperate' as you said the other day, and I certainly don't pine for 'Scarface' as you like to call him. I may not have a lot of money but there are much more important things in life than that. It doesn't make me trash." I started to rant, taking in deep breaths as I tried to control my thoughts. "And I do have friends, I do! I don't need Harry or Hermione or my brother. I'm my own person and I just-." I took a deep breath and urged myself to shut up, turning around. The kitchen wall was immediately very interesting.

And why was Malfoy so silent?

"Why do you hate me?" I blurted.

"What? I don't, I mean, I-, You-." He frowned.

I gazed at him in shock. Did this mean what I think it did? Malfoy actually _doesn't _hate me. Can I just say: huh?

"Oh, fuck off Weasel."

Or maybe not.

"You're so crude Malfoy, didn't your mother ever teach you any manners?"

Back was the rage in Malfoy's face. "Don't you dare say anything bad about my mother. Do you hear me?"

_Oookay._

"Then lay off me and my family!"

"Only if you get over this ridiculous idea that I have some inferiority-complex involving the Golden Trio." He spat back at me, his grey eyes piercing my own. Most girls would have drooled all over him at that moment but not me.

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Well, fine." I crossed my arms over my chest and poked my tongue out at him.

I then realised what I had just said and done and burst out laughing. Merlin, we were pathetic. We were no better than a couple of five year olds!

Malfoy looked at me incredulously when he saw me laughing like that. But that made me just tilt my head back and laugh even louder.

So there I was, standing in the kitchen, almost wetting myself, when I nearly had a heart attack because all of a sudden Malfoy seemed to cotton on to what was so hilarious and started laughing himself.

He was _actually _laughing. I'd never heard him do that before. I mean I'd heard him sniggering and chuckling at someone else's misfortune (usually caused by him) but I'd never heard him laugh happily like that. And the weirdest thing was that it sounded nice. It was warm and throaty and almost… comforting.

I halted my own laughing and stared.

"What?" he asked in between bursts of laughter.

"You're laughing." I stated.

Malfoy shook his head in disbelief. "You're so intelligent, Weasel."

"I've never heard you laugh like this before." I said without thinking then cringed. The last thing I needed was for Malfoy to think that I was taking an interest in him.

Because I wasn't. Really.

Malfoy averted his eyes and shrugged.

Whatever, at least the ice from before had been broken. And while some things couldn't be forgotten, I had partially forgiven him. He'd never given me the apology that I was after, I bet he's never said sorry to someone in his life, but I think from his actions he did partly regret what he had said. Besides, I'd told him some nasty things as well. I think we both realised it was time to move on. For the rest of that day it was as if some silent agreement passed between us. Enough was enough: we both didn't like each other but we could at least act our own age. Well that's what I thought anyway, as I said before it's always been pretty hard for me to tell what he's thinking.

I sat back down at the table, wanting to finish off my pudding.

"I wonder what the others are doing right now." I said aloud.

Malfoy sat down again, digging into his treacle tart. "Pansy's probably in despair with me gone."

I refrained from whacking him on the head. "Dumbledore would surely have noticed by now. It'll only be a few days till he finds us and gets us out."

"Assuming he can get us out."

I was astonished. "Of course he can. Why he's, well, Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore's not all-powerful you know." He looked down his nose at me.

"He's pretty damn close."

I thought about my friends. Eliza would be worried – would Seamus be as well? I doubt it; he had no idea about my crush on him. And thank heavens for that.

"Ron, Hermione and Harry still probably haven't noticed I'm gone." I muttered, not meaning to speak aloud, and ignored the sharp look Malfoy gave me. "I just hope we're discovered soon." I added more loudly.

"Same here."

Wow. We actually agreed on something. I feel another heart attack coming on.

"Do you think our families would know by now?" I asked.

"I'd say so. Though where they think we've gone I have no idea."

I wrinkled my nose in amusement. "They might think we've eloped together."

"That'd be the day." Malfoy rolled his eyes.

Mentioning the word "elope" reminded me of the reason I was stuck here in the first place – that mysterious old lady. She wanted me to find my soul mate, which she mistakenly thought was Malfoy, so did this mean that we wouldn't be let out until we did fall in love?

Please _no._

I smacked my forehead with my right hand, not believing that it had taken me this long to work that out. I never really thought I was quite that dense.

"I'm going to die in here a sad eighty year old woman." I moaned.

"You're so positive." Malfoy smirked at my antics. "I wouldn't worry. They'll find us and get us out."

If I hadn't had felt so miserable just then, I would have had yet another heart attack over the fact that Malfoy had just said something semi-nice.

I pondered over whether I should tell him the truth about the old woman and the curse. Would he believe me? Probably not. And would it really help the situation? I don't think so. I could imagine Malfoy's reaction to me telling him someone thought that he was my "soul mate". He'd kill himself. Or maybe me instead. Hmph, not really what I want.

We finished breakfast and went into the lounge room to watch the telly-vision. It's really addictive. If I was a muggle I'd watch it all the time.

Sadly, the show with the transsexuals wasn't on so we were left watching this story that involved magic, not to mention hilariously bad acting. It was quite disturbing seeing what muggles viewed as magic. But it did make me laugh not to mention Malfoy as well. I got to hear more of his warm laughter…

Okay Madam Pomfrey, if I ever refer to Malfoy like that again, please gag me.

I snuck out halfway through the episode however, to have a shower. If Malfoy went first, being the hog that he was, he'd take all the hot water as he had done yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that.

That's right, I was standing up for myself.

So I snuck out hurriedly and sprinted for the bathroom, this time making sure I brought a towel.

I hopped into the shower closing the glass door behind me and started humming as I rubbed some shampoo into my hair.

I was there for a good five minutes when I felt the room become cooler and glanced behind me, only to see Malfoy gawking at me, the door wide open behind him.

I shrieked. I could've sworn that I had locked that!

"Get out!" I yelled, grabbing my towel frantically, trying to cover myself. "Out! Out! Just get out!"

I think I scared the wits out of Malfoy because he fled from the bathroom without saying a single word.

I made sure I locked the bathroom door this time while I towel-dried myself and then wrapping the towel closely around me, I walked over to our bedroom only to find Malfoy lying down upon the bed, gazing up at the ceiling.

"Out!" I ordered. Malfoy looked shocked to see me and his mouth was wide open. I groaned. "I have to do everything myself."

I dragged him by the arm and shoved him outside, shutting and locking the bedroom door behind me so that I could get dressed.

And he still hadn't said a word.

I looked at myself in the mirror. Did I really look that hideous?

My hair was all in disarray from the shower, my eyes were vibrant and my cheeks were bright red with anger and embarrassment. The towel did little to hide my body. I looked little better than, as my mother would say, a scarlet woman.

I irritably pulled on a pair of denim jeans and a white tank top.

When I did step outside I saw Malfoy waiting for me.

"I can explain." He started.

"You'd better." The threat in my voice was evident.

"I was just looking for you, I had no idea where you had gone. I tried all the other rooms but you weren't there so I then checked the bathroom, which you hadn't even locked, and found you there."

It was a good explanation. And it sounded like he was telling the truth. But still. "Where else would I have been if not in one of these rooms?"

"Look I didn't know. I didn't even hear you leave. Maybe you'd found a way out of here."

It _did_ sound plausible. "Didn't you hear the water running?"

"No I didn't pick up on it. That door is pretty solid you know. I can barely hear you when you yell at me through it."

Sure. "Then when you saw me in the shower, why didn't you quickly back out like any other human being would have?" I clenched my teeth.

He turned around, his back facing me.

"That's what I had planned on doing." I heard him murmur.

"What was that? Speak up!"

"You just caught me by surprise, okay? When I entered that room I didn't think I'd see a stark naked Weasley!"

I blushed even harder than I had in the shower. I swear I looked like a tomato. I felt humiliated – here was Malfoy who lets face it, is no saint. You don't want to know what I've heard about him when it comes to girls. He's probably had some of the most beautiful girls at Hogwarts, and then seeing me… I don't think I could really compare to them. _And really_, said a voice in the back of my head, _why should I care?_

I took a deep breath and willed myself to stop looking like a brilliant red idiot.

What exactly was I going to say now? This was awkward. For some reason though I believed him. "At least you can now use the shower." I brushed past him and Malfoy jumped out of the way.

_Great, he can't even bear to touch me_. I stomped off into the lounge room once again.

And again that voice in the back of my head was saying, _why should I care?_

Lunch and dinner were slightly quieter than breakfast had been, and I still gave Malfoy a bit of a hard time about the "shower incident" though I did cool down after a while. But at least we were talking, if only slightly. Honestly, the guy had seen me naked! It was hard being in the same room as him with that in mind. I didn't know how else I was supposed to act.

I was exhausted by the end of the day. So much had happened. For example, was Malfoy really going to say he didn't hate me? Or did I just catch him off guard? Somehow I think it was the latter.

And did I hate him? Well the answer to that is no. I've never hated anyone in my life (except maybe you-know-who). Hate's just too strong a word. I did dislike him, but then at times he did the most surprising things. And then last night was one of the biggest surprises when I heard him crying. What was that all about?

We went to bed again, with me making sure I was well away from him.

"Goodnight Malfoy." I said, I'm still not too sure why.

"Goodnight." He whispered, I could tell that he was close to falling asleep. He sounded so innocent.

I lay awake for a while longer, just thinking about anything and everything when I heard Malfoy start to move. Maybe he hadn't fall asleep and I was mistaken. But then I heard him start yelling out and I knew that he was having another nightmare.

"Please, just leave me alone. Please. Don't hurt her." He sounded so desperate.

"Malfoy, calm down." I hushed him, not too sure whether I should wake him up or not. I crawled over to his side of the bed and lightly shook his strong solid shoulders but he wouldn't wake up. However he did seem to calm down a bit. I continued talking to Draco in his sleep, trying to calm him down more. It seemed to work because he finally did become peaceful, his nightmare apparently gone. His breathing slowed till it was once more even and I began to remove my hands from his shoulders when he reached up and clutched my right hand. I tried to remove it but this only caused him to hold onto it tighter. His hands were firm and rough, I could even feel a few calluses (probably due to Quidditch). I studied him and knew that he was still asleep and I couldn't bring myself to wake him up. An awake Malfoy would never touch a Weasley willingly. I sighed as I looked down once more at my hand intertwined with his and gave in. I eased myself down beside him till I was completely lying down, his body amazingly warm against my own.

And for the first time in days I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Aww, how cute. Next chapter features a midnight snack among other things. Please review - could I make 100? ;)Also please note that there is a bit more between these two than it seems (yes- there will be a few more flashbacks - three in fact. But they're very spread out in terms of chapters and they're quite recent. That is, at most three years before the current time setting to a few weeks beforehand. And yes these flashbacks will be different from the ones last chapter as both Ginny and Draco are quite a bit older. So that means a lot of tension! hint hint. You'll see what I mean, it'll all make sense eventually). Also, including the prologue and an epilogue, there'll be 29 chapters in total. Though who knows, this could change.

**FeistySprite: **I made this chapter a lot longer – please don't die! Thanks for the review.

**Julie: **I can't tell you exactly what Malfoy's upset about yet - sorry. But I can tell you that you'll only have to wait roughly three chapters to find out. Thanks for reviewing!


	7. Ch6: Day 6

**Disclaimer: **I own neither Harry Potter nor any of the characters in this story- I pretty much don't own anything affiliated with the _Harry Potter_ series. They are the property of the amazing J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note: **I just want to say that I love every single one of you who reviewed this story. Seriously - you're the best readers anyone could ask for. Thank you all so much!

* * *

**Chapter 6:**

_Day 6 – A Midnight Snack and Lies_

-

I groggily opened my eyes. It was still dark and I could just see Malfoy's face extremely close to mine. He seemed so peaceful. Almost angelic.

He breathed onto me, his breath lightly fanning my face. I closed my eyes again and settled into his warmth. I know Madam Pomfrey what's probably going through your mind right now – but the only reason I did this was because:

1. I was half asleep still and my brain was not properly functioning.

2. My legs were tangled in with his.

3. His hand was still latched onto mine and there was no way I could move away.

Honestly, this is _Malfoy _for Merlin's sake.

Somewhere in the midst of my drowsiness I heard Malfoy shift around and then sit up. He paused for a moment and I could imagine the thoughts running through his mind. A Weasley was actually snuggled up against him, let alone touching him. I half-expected him to push me away and start yelling at me but all he did was sigh and then sit there for a bit more with my arm still wrapped around him and his arm still holding my hand. I swear I heard him say, "I'm so stupid." Then he disentangled himself from me, got up and exited the room.

The sudden cold air that hit me when Malfoy left made me huddle closer under the covers. I tried to get back to sleep, but somewhere in the back of my mind I was wondering about Malfoy's reaction and I couldn't. Soon enough I went from half-asleep to full-blown awake.

_Great._ Before I could stop myself, I too had left the bedroom (grabbing my wand and saying _Lumos_ in the process) and entered the kitchen where I found Malfoy sitting by himself next to the table in the dark, quietly munching on something. I think I must have yelped. He had surprised me. I hadn't expected him to be sitting in the dark. Though as I was beginning to find out, there were a lot of things about Malfoy that were surprising.

Malfoy coolly raised an eyebrow at me and I mumbled that he had scared me. He shrugged and I swear he motioned to the seat next to him.

"Are you asking me to sit down beside you? Don't tell me you've become all nice now." It was my turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Just shut up and sit down. You make it sound like I'm doing you a favour." He grumbled. Maybe this was his way of saying thank you for last night, he couldn't _not_ have noticed anything at all.

I sat down, placing my lit wand on the table, and looked over at what he was eating. It seemed to be… _chocolate cake!_

I squealed. "This is my favourite food in the whole world." I snatched his fork from him and dug into it, munching away. I smiled. If there was one thing I couldn't live without, it was chocolate cake.

Malfoy sniffed. "I believe that was my fork."

"Now it isn't. And what are you doing here sitting in the dark anyway, hmm?"

Malfoy turned away, ignoring my question.

"Fine, be like that." I continued to sit there eating and I saw Malfoy grab another fork before he continued beside me eating the cake. I was amused when I realised I don't think I'd ever seen him give in to anyone so easily and just get something for himself before. We sat there silently eating for a few minutes when I noticed Malfoy staring at me.

"What?"

"Nothing, you just got a little something here." He gestured to a spot on my face.

I wiped at it, trying to get it.

"No, no. Not there, here." He gestured again. "No, no… oh just let me do it!"

And with such surprising gentleness he calmly wiped off a crumble of cake, his hand lightly brushing past my lips in the process, his face only a few inches from mine.

I gasped.

He gasped.

We paused. His lips were so close and then… "Seriously Weasley, didn't your mother teach you how to eat properly?" The spell was broken and I jerked away, annoyed with myself. There was no way he was going to, well, you know... but I couldn't believe that yet again in less than 24 hours he had willingly touched me, and this time he was awake too.

"At least I have a decent mother." I muttered.

"What was that?" he snapped dangerously and I winced. Damn, he was going to be fuming.

"Nothing."

"I don't think it was-"

I cut him off quickly, desperate to change the subject. "You were having a nightmare before."

He looked startled and gazed at me for a moment. "No, I wasn't." He spoke quietly.

"Yes, you were. What was it about?"

"There was no nightmare. Okay, Weasley?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Everyone has nightmares, even you. You held my hand throughout the whole night, didn't you notice that when you woke up?"

"Look, just shut it Weasley." His voice rose in anger.

"I just want to help-"

"Would you just stop being such a bitch?" I jolted, amazed at his crassness. A sinking feeling began to well up inside me as I started to realise the truth. Malfoy really was a jerk at heart, there was nothing more to him. He didn't realise that anything had happened at all, or maybe he just didn't care that I happened to be holding his hand. I inwardly scoffed at myself. Who was I kidding? I'd just caught Malfoy at a bad time and I happened to be the only thing there to help him. He wasn't even awake! I shrugged off any feelings of disappointment and sent a heated glare his way.

I bit my lip. "You _bastard._" I hissed. "I spent all night next to you because _you_ wouldn't let go of _my_ hand because of your _little_ nightmare, even though you're a complete jerk who would never do the same for me, and this is how you thank me. You really are low." I hastily pushed back my chair and rushed to my feet and out the door.

"Weasley, wait." I heard him call out from behind me.

"Just bugger off!" I yelled and slammed the door shut, locking it with my wand several times to make sure. _Have fun trying to get through that Malfoy._ I thought smugly.

I kicked the ground in frustration. I'd won that fight at least, but it sure didn't feel like it. I climbed into bed, trying to get back to sleep once more, only to find that a certain Slytherin was very prevalent in my thoughts.

* * *

On opening my bedroom door the next morning and entering the kitchen, I saw that Malfoy was already there. 

I stomped into the room, still mad, and furiously cut myself some pudding.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you were imagining that that's me." He spoke calmly, gesturing to the pudding.

"Get lost." I grounded out.

"Hey, don't you think that I should be the one angry here. I had to spend all night asleep on the couch."

"Deal with it." I slammed my plate onto the table and sat down. "And if my memory serves me correctly, you were the one who started the fight in the first place."

"Typical Gryffindor, you're so stubborn and you always have to be in the right."

"Better than being a deceitful snake." I glowered at him and then stopped myself, here we were yet again fighting with each other like none of us had any intelligence whatsoever.

"Look, I'm tired of fighting Malfoy. Let's just stay away from each other, okay? Otherwise we'll end up killing each other."

He looked at me with an unreadable expression in his eyes. "Fine. Let's just stay away from each other." He echoed.

So for the rest of the day we stayed as far away from each other as possible. If I was in one room, he'd be in another. I barely saw him at all, and considering there were only four rooms in the whole place including the bathroom, it was quite amazing.

I'd try to keep myself pre-occupied throughout the day, but no matter what my thoughts would just keep returning to Malfoy. Why did he just have this incredible ability to irritate me so much? But the more I thought about it the more I noticed something – maybe Malfoy was just acting nasty because he was trying to compensate for allowing himself to showme a sign of his weakness. I cheered up at the thought. I just had to get him to open up to me. But then I just shook my head at the thought. Why did I want to know more about him anyway?

_Because maybe I like him_.

I froze at the thought, which occurred just as I was getting ready for bed. Or more precisely, this happened, as I was standing half-naked in the bedroom, about to put on my pyjamas. _That is completely preposterous. _

And then, as if seeing me naked yesterday wasn't enough, Malfoy walked in.

He groaned in what was clearly disgust and turned away. I slumped my shoulders and continued slipping on my pyjamas. He obviously thought that I was hideous.

"Are you decent?" I heard him call.

"Yes." I slipped into the bed.

He came in and I saw him pull out his pyjamas and begin to change. I quickly closed my eyes and hid my head under the blanket, but not without getting a good look at his muscular chest. He eventually lay down on the bed next to me, and I could not help but compare the closeness of the night before to our current distance.

But than night also dug up another memory that I had tried to forget, because for the first night since I had been stuck with Malfoy, I dreamt. I dreamt of those astonishing events that had transpired almost one and a half years ago. Those events that still today I could not believe had occurred. I dreamt of that night at the Yule Ball.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I know, it wasn't as long as I had hoped but I knew I had to get something out for you guys. So I really apologise for that. At least there was an almost-kiss moment. On the plus side, next chapter will be extremely interesting and I promise long – and of course it will feature a flashback to the Yule Ball – which lets just say will feature some pretty interesting stuff between Ginny and Draco. 

And they will stop fighting fairly soon (maybe even next chapter, hint). Also, sorry if the swearing disturbs anybody, I just needed it for effect.

Anyway, please review and thankyou very much for all the positive comments! When I'm stressed out with work it really does help to make my day.

**Replies:**

**Softlove91:** My school gave us homework over the holidays. I know, shock horror. But I also went to the beach quite a bit. And watched the tennis! Did you watch it? I'll try to update my other stories, I'm a slacker when it comes to completing stories as you may have noticed, but I'm definitely going to finish this one. Thanks for always reviewing!

**Velfin: **Ginny is bitter because Malfoy is always so rude to her, but there is definite sexual tension there, whether she wants to admit it or not. And Malfoy sometimes says the things he does to keep up this Slytherin bad-boy image of his, and also because in the family that he's beenbrought up in, saying what you actually want to say is something that's not done (especially considering Draco's father…) I'm not saying Malfoy's some huge softy who's just misunderstood, I'm just saying he's not _all_ bad because really, no one is. I hope that answered your question and made sense. And thanks for reviewing (six times too - and thanks for reviewing my other stories as well, I'll try to update them).

**StarLightStarBright567** I've considered writing a chapter from Malfoy's point of view, but I'm worried it won't work with the overall flow of the story. I am definitely thinking about it though – who knows? If I do decide to I'll let you know. Thanks for reviewing.

**whitewolf33:** Yep, you're correct. Malfoy certainly didn't think Ginny looked bad, not at all. Thanks for the review.


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